"The history of improving communication across the western frontier in the United States and the process of closing a loan electronically have more similarities than one would think. It might be unsettling, but—minus outlaws, gun-slinging bounty hunters, and saloon shoot-outs—the two have much in common. Both required acts of Congress for advancement and goals included the removal of paper, the need for a unified and connected infrastructure, and the development and use of new technologies. There have been good, bad, and ugly aspects that create new risks.

When the frontier beckoned, wagon trains carried settlers west to buy public lands at attractive prices, made possible by congressional land acts. For thousands, land ownership was a good thing. But the settlers were spread over many acres of large land masses, and communication from the Midwest to the Pacific coast, in the form of mail or printed materials, was slow. The Pony Express was formed to deliver mail by using relay teams of men riding horses. This new way to deliver mail between Missouri and California took between 10 and 13 days, a truly revolutionary speed for the time. But the ride was grueling and hazardous, making for an inefficient and costly means of moving paper…"Main pagelink